Deserve Failure
by shouldabeenadog
Summary: The fight between Azula and Zuko is progressing a bit differently than before, resulting in surprising revelations of character.  spoilers


Deserve Failure

"_Come on Zuzu -cough- is that the best you've **-**cough- got?" Azula, her hair disheveled, her uniform burned with Zuko's pathetic, useless orange fire, struggled to breath. That last fire blast had gotten right into her lungs on her in-breath, and the pain was refusing to submit to her. Her! The Fire Lord! How dare her body fail her like this! She would have it whipped and punished. After she finished wiping the floor with Zuko. She still had one more lightning blast left, one more chance to kill him like her father couldn't, prove that she was the strongest Fire Lord, stronger than her father. Oh she would show him Zuko's head, and then take her father's and rule -cough- -cough-_

"Azula..." Zuko sighed. His sister was beaten. There was pain in her eyes, her body shook from overexertion. She had nothing left to fight him with. "I accept your defeat Azula. Now stand down!" He shouted at her. He hated what she had done, hated that everyone had been hurt, had died, had suffered from her. But he would not kill her. She was his sister, she was fire-nation royalty. She deserved the punishment she would earn, she deserved the love that had been denied to her. She deserved so much, of both good and bad.

"Never!" She said with such vitriol, such hate. Not even Ozai held such hate in his heart. She waved her arms in an arc, her fingers coiling into the lightning burst pattern. Zuko readied himself. One more lightning blast. He would reverse it , she would dodge, and then he would fire ax kick and she would be finished. He stepped back into position.

"_Suffer! __And __Die!__" _

_She __screamed __at __him, __even __as __the __lightning __crackled, __its __form __unsteady, __held __together __only __by __Azula's __divine __will. __She __would __punish __ the __lightning __for __its __imperfection. __It __had __failed __her. __Everything __had __failed __her. __Her __father, __her __brother, __her __mother, __her __body, __her __country, __her __lightning. __She __would __see __it __all __punished ,__all __burnt __to __ash __under __her __blue __fire. __She __thrust __her __fingers __out __and __the __lightning __struggled __against __her. __It __didn__'__t __want __to __go. **How Dare It**__! __She __**Forced** __it __out, __the __lightning __burst __from __her, __taking __all __of __her __energy __with __it. __It __wasn't __supposed __to __do __that. __It __had __violated __her __trust! __It __had __stolen __from __her!_

The lighting twisted and arced as it headed for Zuko. It was angry, it was twisty. Some new style of attack from Azula? Could he expect any less than for her to make a lightning he couldn't reverse? It wasn't the straight, direct style like everyone used, it arced and shook and weaved through the air, making sudden sharp turns. It was too late to dodge, too late to do anything but try to ride that storm.

The lighting dodged his outstretched fingers, the lightning burning its way to his core. He felt it struggle, thrash and twist like some wyrm, a great dragon of lightning entombed in him, struggling to break free. He rode it, pushed it down to his core, down to his center, and began breathing out, pushing the lightning out, forcing it out of him as he directed, out towards his other hand. The lightning dragon thrashed and twisted and struggled, and then shot towards his heart. It felt like a claw as it ripped through the well defined chi-channels, barreling through the proper flows as it raced towards Zuko's heart. Zuko breathed faster, pushing his own inner fire against the lightning, striking against it, beating against the claw as he pushed it back into the chi channels, back towards his left arm, back, away from his heart. The dragon fought against him, and Zuko pushed everything he had against it. Out. And then it was gone, flying free from his fingers, heading straight towards Azula, her knees already bent to begin the dodge. Zuko breathed in as the lightning burst charged across the Agni Ki field, readying himself for the ax kick that would end this fight.

_The lightning had turned against her. Mai had turned against her, Ty Lee, even her father. **Even Her Father** had left her! Abandoned her! Betrayed her! And now, with her body refusing to move fast enough, to **Move**, the lightning betrayer was coming for her, and she couldn't stop it, couldn't dodge, couldn't get away. The lighting struck her in the chest, her eyes bulged in pain, her muscles contracted violently, as the lightning consumed her. Her body jerked, muscles clenching, limbs twisting in a macabre display. The light in her eyes vanished like smoke as she fell to the ground, her head smashing into the stone with a sickening crunch._

Zuko watched, as he killed his sister. He could have saved her, if he had time. He could have redeemed her, shown her the love that had been denied her. She could have become his sister again. Now she was dead. Zuko walked over, hesitant. It was not past Azula to fake her death to kill him. Even the blood coming from the back of her head was no true indication. Until he was close enough to see the dead look in her eyes, the brain smashed against the rock. She wasn't breathing. She wasn't breathing in. She wasn't using her breath, the focus of fire. She was dead.

Emotions turned and toiled in Zuko. He had failed his uncle, who had taught him the hope of redemption. He had failed his father, he had failed to capture the avatar. He had failed the avatar, by forcing him to deal with Ozai on his own. He had failed his country, by killing the Fire Lord. And just like every time before when he failed, he got up. He walked over to the cloak of the Fire Lord, and covered her. It would be a fine funeral shroud. He didn't cry then. He couldn't. But he couldn't stay standing. The emotions, the exhaustion, they forced him to his knees, and he could do little more than breathe and stare at the cooling body of his sister.

After a few minutes, the attendants came. "Fire Lord Zuko. What are we to do with the body of..." he trailed off, unsure of what exactly to call her. Zuko filled in several words in his head. Traitor? Fire Lord? Dead? Sister?

"The Fire Lord has died, prepare the appropriate funeral." Zuko whispered. He had failed everyone. He would not fail his sister now.

"My Lord? Are you sure?" The attendant asked, shocked. Azulon had left the burning corpse of his predecessor for the birds.

"I am the Fire Lord. My _**sister **_shall be buried appropriately."

~44~

Zuko was escorted to the Fire Lord's suite in the palace. Katara followed. She had seen the fiery bitch die. Finally die. After she had nearly killed Aang, after she had killed so many in Ba Sing Se. She had hurt Aang, hurt her brother, hurt Toph, hurt her, hurt Zuko. And now she was gone, finally gone. She didn't understand Zuko. Such criminals should be thrown off of the ice and let sink to the bottom. A funeral? A Fire Lord's funeral?

"Why Zuko? Why treat her like this? You know she'd have left you on the field, or stuck your body on a spear outside the palace. Why?" She was angry. Azula didn't deserve this. Azula didn't deserve _anything_ for what she had done.

"What would you do?" He asked, somberly. He wouldn't cry in front of her. His tears were for his sister alone.

"Toss her in the ocean. Like we do with all criminals. They deserve nothing more than to feed the fish."

"She was my sister." Zuko says tiredly.

"You know thats a terrible excuse! She was rotten to the core!"

"She was doing Ozai's bidding." Zuko's voice rose in anger, but Katara was oblivious.

"Ozai! She wasn't doing his bidding! She was him! The same casual violence, the same disregard for human life! They were the same in all but gender! She deserves the worst punishment possible, but she's already dead. And now you want to throw a huge funeral to **Celebrate** her! To **celebrate **the time she nearly killed Iroh! To celebrate the times she tried to kill you! Tried to kill me! She deserves the **worst**!" Katara wasn't hysterical, but she was livid, blood rushing to her cheeks in rage.

She was still wrong, and his temper would not abandon him. He glared at her, "Deserved? She deserved to be loved! She deserved to have a father who saw her as a daughter, not a weapon! She deserved to have a brother who protected her! She deserved happiness!"

"You couldn't protect her Zuko! She wouldn't take your protection! She deserved worse than what you gave her. A quick death was more than she deserved!" Why couldn't he understand? She had killed and hurt so many people. Twisted them and turned them and violated their minds. She was a demon!

"I could have protected her, but I didn't." He says, the rage gone. He was so tired. He didn't want to do anymore.

"You didn't have to! She didn't deserve it."

"What would you have done?" Zuko asks again, this time leaning back into his chair, closing his eyes. Wanting her to go away. Wanting her to understand, and unsure which he wanted more.

"Shove her off an iceburg!" She shouted out.

"No." Zuko sat up, and looked her straight in the eyes. His eyes were so tired, yet why did they still hold so much strength? "What would you have done, if it was your brother?"

Katara gasped, her eyes going wide, before narrowing in absolute fury. "How dare you! How dare you say that my brother could ever be like that! He is fun and smart and-"

"-and he had a mother who loved him. And a father who respected him as a person, not just a warrior. He had all those things. What if he hadn't?" He didn't shout. He didn't need to shout, his voice cut through her like a sword.

Katara started tearing up, her tears of anger and frustration and fear. Sokka still wouldn't be like her would he?

"What if your father had raised him like mine had raised her? To treat every person as a tool in his plans? That showing affection was a sign of weakness, and exploited it every time? That your mother refused to love him? What then Katara? What would you have done with your brother's body, as it lay on the ice? His blood turning-"

Katara ran out of the room, the door slamming against the wall. She couldn't hear anymore, she didn't want to hear anymore. Azula was evil. Sokka was her brother, he was a good person, he'd never do anything like that.

Zuko leaned back, and wondered why now the fates had decided to give him what he wanted.


End file.
